Employer funding kit
Work out what your HRD Corp levy covers — then send it to whoever signs
You almost certainly pay the levy. There is almost certainly a balance. And it is almost certainly on a clock nobody has looked at.
Three things stop internal training budgets from moving, and none of them is whether the training would be useful. They are: nobody knows what it costs, nobody knows whether the levy covers it, and nobody wants to be the person who asks their manager for money without those two answers.
This page answers all three in your own numbers, and then writes the email for you. Everything below is HRD Corp’s own published rule, read on 10 September 2026 and sourced at the bottom.
The ledger
Put in your headcount, a rough average wage, and how many people would attend.
The levy ledger
What your company already contributes, what this costs, and what is at risk if nobody claims.
Your monthly levy
RM3,000
1% of monthly wages — compulsory
HRD Corp reimburses up to
RM21,000
About RM1,400 per person at 15 people
At risk of forfeiture
RM62,000
Two years of contributions above the RM10,000 floor, if no claim is made
At your contribution rate, the claimable ceiling for this course is roughly 7.0 months of levy — money already leaving the payroll every month whether it is used or not.
Send it to whoever signs
The numbers above, written as an email. Edit it, then forward it.
An estimate, not advice. Levy rates and the forfeiture rule are HRD Corp’s, read 10 September 2026; the reimbursement ceiling is from HRD Corp’s Allowable Cost Matrix (January 2026 version), read 25 September 2026. Your actual balance depends on your claim history. Confirm your position with HRD Corp.
The three rules that decide everything
Who pays. Registration is compulsory for employers with ten or more Malaysian employees, at 1% of monthly wages. Employers with five to nine Malaysian employees may register optionally, at 0.5%.
The forfeiture clock. The period for holding unutilised levy was cut from five years to two, with effect from 1 January 2020. If no claims are made within twenty-four months, the balance above RM10,000 is forfeited and RM10,000 remains. Balances under RM10,000 are exempt — so your exposure is exactly the amount above that floor.
When the clock started. If you have claimed before, the two years run from the date of your last successful training claim. If you have never claimed, they run from when the balance first reached RM10,000. This is the number to go and find out.
| Malaysian employees | Registration | Levy rate |
|---|---|---|
| 10 or more | Compulsory | 1% of monthly wages |
| 5 to 9 | Optional | 0.5% of monthly wages if registered |
| Fewer than 5 | Not applicable | — |
SBL and SBL-Khas — which scheme you are actually claiming under
Most employers say “HRD Corp claimable” without knowing which scheme they mean, and the two most common ones behave differently in the way that matters most: who pays the training provider, and when.
SBL — Skim Bantuan Latihan. The employer pays the provider, then claims reimbursement from HRD Corp afterwards. Your cash goes out first and comes back later.
SBL-Khas.The grant is approved in advance and HRD Corp disburses against the employer’s levy, so the training is funded from the balance rather than from operating cash. This is the scheme most in-house corporate training in Malaysia is run under, and it is the one worth asking for by name.
The practical difference is cash flow, not eligibility. If finance has ever pushed back on training because of the timing of the spend rather than the amount, SBL-Khas is the answer to that objection.
| SBL | SBL-Khas | |
|---|---|---|
| Who pays the provider first | The employer | Disbursed against your levy |
| Grant approved before training | Yes | Yes |
| Effect on operating cash | Out, then reimbursed | Largely avoided |
| Typical use | Varied | In-house corporate training |
How much HRD Corp pays for in-house training
For a general in-house course, the claimable course fee is capped per group, not per person. These are HRD Corp’s own figures from the January 2026 Allowable Cost Matrix.
| Item | Ceiling | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| In-house course fee, full day (7+ hours) | RM10,500 | Per group |
| In-house course fee, half day (up to 4 hours) | RM6,000 | Per group |
| Minimum group, face-to-face | 2 trainees | Fee prorated below 5 |
| Public class, full day | RM1,750 | Per participant |
| Airfare for external trainers from other towns | As charged | Airport tax, admin fee and fuel surcharge included |
| Travel allowance, 100km or more | RM500 | Per person per day, or actual if lower |
The order of operations — get this wrong and you cannot claim
This is where employers who did everything else right lose the money. The grant application goes in before the training happens, and it is approved against a specific course, provider, dates and participant list. Training that has already run cannot be retro-fitted into an approved grant.
| # | Step | When |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Confirm the provider AND the specific course are HRD Corp registered | Before quoting |
| 2 | Agree course, dates and participant list | Before applying |
| 3 | Submit the grant application | BEFORE the training — this is the one that catches people |
| 4 | Receive approval | Before the training runs |
| 5 | Deliver the training | — |
| 6 | Submit the claim with attendance and invoice | After delivery |
Why the fourth quarter is the tightest time to book
Search demand for Microsoft training in Malaysia peaks in September. In our own keyword data, “excel training malaysia” runs at about twice its annual average that month, “power bi training malaysia” at about two and a half times, and “in house training malaysia” at seven times.
That is levy-burn behaviour — companies realising late in the year that a balance is going unused, and moving to spend it. It repeats every year.
The practical consequence is not budget but trainer availability, especially for courses in Sarawak and Sabah where the trainer travels. If your levy is on a clock, start the conversation a quarter earlier than feels necessary.
Sources
- HRD Corp, Registered Employers — levy rates and registration thresholds. hrdcorp.gov.my/registered-employers
- HRD Corp Support Centre, Levy Forfeiture — the two-year rule and the RM10,000 floor. supportcentre.hrdcorp.gov.my
- HRD Corp, Guidebook Allowable Cost Matrix, January 2026 version — course-fee ceilings, airfare and allowances. hrdcorp.gov.my (PDF)
- Levy pages read 10 September 2026; the cost matrix read 25 September 2026. Rules change — confirm your own position with HRD Corp.
This page is a guide, not advice about your specific account — your actual balance and claim history are in your HRD Corp employer account.
What in-house Microsoft training costs, and what HRD Corp pays
Ready to put a number in front of your manager?
Tell us the course, the team size, where you are and whether you are registered with HRD Corp. We will come back with a suggested shape and next steps on a quote — and if a public course would serve you better, we will say so.